The game of Cricket is a traditional British past time, having roots that go back as far as King Edward II (1307-1327), although the earliest definitive reference to cricket occurs in a 1598 court record mentioning that “creckett” was played on common ground in Guilford, Surry by school boys. The first recorded accounts of adults playing cricket occur in the early 1600's, with one account being a coroner's court record of the death of a cricket player, Jasper Vinall, who was killed while fielding when he was struck on the head by a ball. The verdict was death by “misadventure”.
Cricket is now the primary summer sport in most of the countries that constituted the Victorian British Empire, including Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, South Africa and the British Isles.
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game, with the dimensions and construction of the bat being of particular concern. Since its formation in 1787, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has been recognized as the sole authority for drawing up the governing rules of cricket, known as the Laws of Cricket.
Law 6 and Appendix E of the Laws of Cricket govern the materials and dimensions of a cricket bat. The currently applicable edition of the relevant laws are attached as Appendix A and B, and are both hereby incorporated by reference into this application. These laws state, amongst other matters, that a cricket bat is to be made of two parts: the handle and the blade, and that the combined length of the blade and the handle shall be no more than 38 inches (965 mm), and the width of the bat shall be no more than 4.25 inches (108 mm). A typical cricket bat weighs between 1.1 to 1.4 kg, but there is no standard limiting the weight. The laws also state that the handle is to be made principally of cane and/or wood that may be in laminar form and may be glued where necessary and bound with twine along its upper portion. The blade must consist solely of solid wood. No material may be inserted into either the blade or the lower portion of the handle.
In addition to regulation cricket, the game is also played by children and adults in informal situations in which the rules and the equipment used may differ from those of regulation cricket. There are countless variations of informal cricket, such as, but not limited to, indoor cricket, street cricket, backyard cricket, beach cricket, modified cricket, such as continuous cricket and French Cricket.
Indoor cricket is a modified form of the sport played in an indoor “court” that contains a cricket pitch of standard dimensions, covered with artificial turf, and is usually played with regulation cricket bats and a regulation cricket ball. Indoor cricket is played in organized amateur competitions and as a casual sport amongst groups of friends. The organized indoor cricket competitions are typically governed by the rules promulgated by the World Indoor Cricket Federation. These stipulate, for instance, that bats must be made of wood and have a maximum height of 96.5 cm and a maximum width of 10.8 cm, i.e., the same materials and maximum dimensions as in traditional cricket, though indoor cricket bats tend to be lighter as the ball used is typically a modified standard cricket ball having a softer center. Outside of organized tournaments, however, the equipment used may be at the discretion of the players.
Street cricket is a form of cricket played informally, generally by children in which a street (or school playground, or park) forms the pitch and playing area. The game is generally played with a tennis ball instead of a cricket ball, though older children or adults may play with a tennis ball covered in plastic tape, to make it a bit harder, or even half-covered with tape, allowing the ball to swing. Bats used may range from regulation bats to hand fashioned planks of wood.
Backyard cricket is an even more informal form of cricket, usually played by adults during the early stages of a barbecue when the fire is just warming up. Many of the same rules of street cricket and similar equipment may be used.
Beach cricket is essentially either street cricket or backyard cricket with the additional feature of a playing surface ideal for spectacular diving catches. Fielding in the surf is a coveted position on hot days.
Several forms of modified cricket have been developed with the intention of allowing children to develop sporting skills These include continuous cricket, which is really a family of related games, all characterized by the rule that batsmen may not be run out, but the bowler may bowl the ball as soon as he is ready, without waiting for the batsmen to be ready, or even to have completed a run. This sort of cricket is usually played in a mad frenzy. The ball is typically a tennis or cork ball, and the bats are any suitable bats that are available.
French cricket is perhaps the most informal of all, and may be played with just a single cricket bat, made of no specific materials and having no specific dimensions, and a tennis ball. There are typically no pitch and no wickets. The batsman must stand with his feet planted together on the ground and not move them—if the feet move or he falls over he is out. The aim of the fielders is to hit the batsman's legs—doing so results in him being out.